Sour beer dregs questions....

[rcsoccer]

Got a few sour beers from an international beer store here in Australia. It cost me $60 for a Cantillion 100% Lambic Bio, Cantillion Rose de Gambrinus, and Lindemen's Cuvee Rene but I think it will be worth it.

I have a beer that I primary fermented with Wyeast Belgian Ardennes (WY3522) for 4 days, then pitched a smack pack of Wyeast Brettanomyces lambicus (WY5526) and added some DME and maltodextrin for the Brett to chew on. It's been sitting on the Brett for 6 months and I recently added some oak chips soaked in Shiraz and I plan on adding some Morello cherries (tart cherries) about 2 months before I bottle it. My question is, can/should I toss in the dregs of one of the sour beers when I add the cherries to give it some sourness and more complexity? Or, should I save the dregs of these beers for a future sour/funky beer?

The beer smells really nice. Horse blanket, barnyard, fresh cut straw.... Just what I expected.

I would appreciate any and all comments/criticisms on this topic.

Cheers!

 

[pohldogg]

I'd drink the beer and use the dregs to build up a small starter for a new batch. For a brett beer that's already aged you probably won't get that much out of the dregs. Even adding cherries that much brett will take out the sugar before the other bugs do. Might be wrong and it could work, but I wouldn't gamble and just brew again.

 

[dcp27]

personally I'd save the dregs, you already got enough going on in this one and adding the sour dregs is going to add months more of waiting on.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

I agree. Save the dregs.

 

[Calder]

Only add the dregs if you plan on aging for another 1.5 to 2 years. The lacto and pedio will take a year to build up sufficient quantities to start haveing much affect on the beer.

 

[Oldsock]

Only add the dregs if you plan on aging for another 1.5 to 2 years. The lacto and pedio will take a year to build up sufficient quantities to start haveing much affect on the beer.

That is a bit extreme. I've soured beers with dregs that went from brewing to bottling in as little as six months.